


Poseidon [DISCONTINUED]

by jxngs



Category: Mamamoo, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Fantasy, Mermaid!Wheein, Suicide Attempt, based of uncharted 4 tbh kinda, depressed!taehyung, then i gave up on this ff lol i just wanted 2 post it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 18:32:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15176756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jxngs/pseuds/jxngs
Summary: "So, you're telling me that the Greek Gods and-everything about Greek mythology is actually real? Is Percy Jackson real then? I thought mermaids sea maids."Who thought that a suicidal young adult would discover one of the most hidden cities in the world? No one, really. Just with the help of a blue eyed beauty, which was-keep in mind-not human.Ουτόπια του Πωσειδωνα, Poseidon's Utopia, is a commonly known lost city to all mortals and immortals. Having multiple sightings in different oceans, it's basically impossible to find it. However, when you're assigned to find something hidden purposely, you have no choice.BASED OF: Uncharted + Greek Mythology.





	1. Disclaimer

**_I_** am in no way affiliated with  _ **방탄소년단, BigHit Entertainment, 마마무, and RBW Entertainment.**_ This story is made purely for entertainment purposes. All characters, created by the author—me, appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. However, all rights are reserved to me. The plot, fictional characters, settings, and almost everything is fictitious and created by me. Don't plagiarize my story unless you want to face serious consequences. Plagiarism is illegal, so please don't steal my book. Don't translate this story into any other language or repost it without my permission.

There is going to be mature scenes and writing, as in murder, gore, swearing, and  _possibly_ smut. A lot of Greek Mythology is included, and such mythologies are so fucked up. There won't be incest, though. This story is inspired by one of my favorite video games: Uncharted. This isn't copy/paste of the plot, but the basic is there, which is searching for something hidden. Some puzzles may or may not be inspired from the game, but for the most part, they'll be created by me and it's up to the reader,  _you_ , if you want to figure them out.


	2. Prologue

**_"I_** n the depths of these oceans, secrets, mysteries, and things that humans can't fathom into their brains. Sure, our brain's imagination is infinitive—never ending, but there are things we can't comprehend because we were raised to not believe such myths. Yet, here I am; staring at a girl with deep, sea-like eyes and bizarre  _'legs'_ **.** ** _"_**

**_— Kim Taehyung._ **


	3. Chapter ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sometimes, we're happy for just one moment. In that one moment, we don't think about what we've been through in the past or what's yet to come. For that one moment, we believe in happiness. We believe in hope. We believe it's going to be alright in the end."
> 
> — The Last of Us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Listen to – Avalanche by Bring Me The Horizon ]

He stared at the huge metal structure in front of him, the sound of water buzzing through his ears. It wasn't very cold, but it was cold enough that it made him wear a hoodie. A crisp breeze hit his walking, lifeless body, causing him to clench his hands in his pockets. He wasn't sure if he was really going to do what he thought that he's going to do, but he was  _tired_ too.

Pulling the hoodie on his head, he rubbed his hands together before he held onto one metal bar. He let out a deep breath before lifting himself up with his hands, his legs hanging below him. There wasn't anything that he could place his legs on, so he hopped back down. The ladder near the ground was broken, preventing anyone from going up. It seemed like there was  _too many attempts_ that they had to put a stop to it.

 _'Fuck, what am I going to do now?'_ He thought desperately, his wandering eyes all over the place. The pair of brown orbs soon landed on the metal bars on the side of the huge structure. They were two intersecting bars, forming a huge  _'X'_. It looked rusty, as if it was going to break, but it didn't matter to him at that point.

Cursing under his breath, he grabbed one of the bars and lifted himself up with all of the muscles and power he had in his arms and back. He settled one of his feet in the corner of the metal bars and quickly boosted himself up just before that bar breaks.

" _Fuck!_ " He blurted out, hanging on the other bar with one hand. Gritting his teeth, he pulled himself up with one hand and quickly grabbed the same bar with his other hand. "What am I going to do now?"

He then decided to slip to the lowest intersection between the diagonal bar and the straight one. His eyes were fixed on the ladder, which was half a meter away from him. Unfortunately, his hands were starting to sweat burn. Taking the last seconds he has left into consideration, he turned to the other side then held the straight bar with both hands, stretching his arms the furthest he could. Clutching the metal for his dear life, the brown-haired guy started lifting himself up  _again._

Just when it was enough for him to place his leg on that intersection, he exactly did that then used the power rested in that leg to jump the ladder. Finally,  _finally_ , he started climbing up the ladder till he was standing on wooden plates

The lone guy sat down on the edge of the deck, his legs swinging down below him. He wasn't a man afraid of heights—nor of anything really, but looking down made him dizzy. It was too high, surprisingly. Nonetheless, he still wanted to do it.

He felt tired. Drained. It's like his soul was sucked out of his body and now what's left is emptiness. He had too many problems, mostly financial. He didn't know what to do. He never thought that it would be  _this_ hard to be an adult. Maybe if he really did audition, he wouldn't have all of these loans and problems on his back. They were too heavy that he felt like his body was about to break. It wasn't that either; he felt himself slowly break.

Tears were brimming his eyes, as he bit down on his lower lip. Why was it so hard to live? Why can't he have proper friends and family? He had dreams to chase, goals to accomplish but all what he did is bring more and more troubles to himself.

 _'Fuck it,'_ were probably his last words. He stood up from his place and walked the furthest from the edge that was facing the ocean. He felt nervous and scared, but he knew he  _had_ to do it. That's the only way—he thought—he would be free.

A shaky breath escaped his lips, as he took off his hoodie. The hair on his arms and back stood up from the cold wind, coming from the ocean.

 _'The water must be very cold, then,'_ he thought to himself. Unfortunately, he knew how to swim, but the waves seemed too strong for him to fight back instinctively.

Another breath emitted from his lips before he started running. He ran so fast, and the second he reached the last centimeter, he jumped off. He probably looked like an idiot while flailing his limbs everywhere, but that wasn't the first thing he thought about. Gravity didn't spare him a second to think about anything; he got engulfed into the ocean's arms instantly, both making him cold and warm inside.

The waves were too strong; the water was too cold; the ocean was too deep; darkness never too real.

At first, he didn't find, nor that he took a deep breath of water into his lungs. He kept fighting back, for some reason. The water kept pushing him down on all sides, playing with his body as if he was a doll. The more his body struggled without him wanting to, the more disoriented and tired he felt. He soon didn't know the difference between left and right, up and down. The pressure on his lungs were building up to a point where he couldn't handle it anymore.

Water gushed into his body the second he gasped in for air. His arms were thrashing around, trying to get rid of the water in his body. However, it got worse. His lungs became an ocean, filled with waves of salty water. That wasn't the only thing that filled his body. Regret filled his heart and stained his throat.  _He didn't want to die._ It was too late, anyways. Darkness engulfed his vision, sending him into an unconscious state.

Just before he completely closed his eyes, he felt someone held his hand and start swimming upwards. There was a splash of sparkling pink and blue hues, along with small bubbles and long, dark hair. That's when he knew it was a girl before he closed his eyes, welcoming death with open hands.

The girl didn't find any troubles on swimming the guy back up, but she didn't know how to bring him to land. It was too high up and basically impossible for her, despite having  _'magical'_ abilities. Deciding to swim across, she then found a shallow land.

 _'Perfect,'_ she thought. The black-haired beauty stared at the unconscious boy before plunging him out of the water, hitting his back against the hard floor. The sound emitted from such actions made non-human cringe a bit. She then placed her hands on the ground higher than her, pulling her body up.

It's been years since she saw land. Every once in awhile, she would go to the surface to breathe fresh air, but go back down quickly. She never interacted with a human being before. She was strictly forbidden to do so unless she was  _supposed_ to, but she couldn't stop herself. How can she let someone die just like that? Why would she let a person's soul—who has lots of potential and goals—go to waste?

Plunging her body out of the water, she laid down beside the unconscious body, breathing heavily. The pressure difference between ocean and land was huge, plus the air  _felt_ different. She wasn't used to this at all. It was way different than her home that it knocked the breath out of her body. Ragged and short breaths left her mouth, as she tried to get her breathing under control. However, she pushed all of this aside and pulled herself up with the two of her hands.

She sat up properly before she placed her index under his nose, praying and hoping that her  _Gods_ listen to her this time. For once, they did. The nonhuman girl felt faint air on her index finger. He's still alive, thankfully. She trailed her hands to his chest, thinking of a way to save him.

Her eyes were closed, as she applied some pressure on his lungs. She could  _literally_ feel the water drowning his lungs under her hands. It made her worry, of course. What if he doesn't make it? The girl wasn't sure on why she cared so much about someone she doesn't know. Well, she had to admit; she did see him for a while but from afar. Maybe that's why. She got attached to someone she had her eye on for a while.

One of her free hands opened his mouth slightly. After she opened her eyes, she saw the water discharge from his mouth, steaming down the left side of his face. If it was anyone else, they would've performed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, or  **CPR** , to save him. With a condition as bad as this, that wouldn't have helped the poor guy.

Concern filled the pale girl's eyes. The guy looked so fragile and broken, despite having a blank face on. Her eyes stared at the sickly pale guy, noticing all of his flaws and imperfections. He had three moles on his face; his nose, lips, and right eye. They looked like stars and constellations to her; they weren't ugly in her eyes. Her eyes were so lost in his stars that she didn't notice how water stopped streaming out of his mouth.

 _'There's nothing...'_ she thought to herself, checking with her hands if there was still water in his lungs. She then pressed her index and middle fingers next to his jugular, feeling blood still pumping in his veins.  _'He's alive.'_

The girl then crawled a bit to the side, leaving space between her and his body. There was wet sand, which meant that she could write him something when he wakes up. If she was a human like him, she would've taken him to her house, but she can't. She can't even speak to him, for Gods' sake!

Using her index finger, she started carving words into the sand, dirt getting under her nails. She didn't care at that moment. All what she cared about is the guy reading her message to him and not getting caught by anyone else. They weren't any houses nor people here, thankfully, so the chances of her getting caught is very low.

After she was done, she instinctively wiped her hand on her bare sides, as she glanced at him. Her eyes then stared at the never ending ocean. It was a mixture of orange-ish and blue colors, warming the ocean one last time before the sun sets down.

As the Earth rotates slowly, the world is going to the darkness. It's where no light exist for hours. However, before the sun completely goes down, there's a sacred moment to people who cherish such moments.

As the sun sets, there's a soothing necromancy to the sounds of the sea. The sea is a necromancy because the sounds at night sound ominous as a criminal to the oblivious. It—the sounds—can't be found anywhere else. You'd often place seashells on your ears to hear the sea, just to get a cry from the sea. Have you ever sat on a golden-colored beach with the sun setting and the salty lips of the sea kissing the sand? Is it possible to recreate this sound anywhere else?

The sea hissed and scraped the seashore, lashing out at the beach and released. It sizzled, releasing a white foam on the sand. It repeated the same process; it fizzed and seethed, slapping the beach with its salty lips. The tides went back and forth, messing up with the seaweed it left behind within every wave.

Such scene couldn't be complete without the smells of the beach dancing up her nostrils. The beach has a strong scent that you won't be able to recreate. The coconut-and-citrus extravaganza of scents. The salty smell of the ocean called the girl home; it called her to come back home.

To take her mind off her home for a while, she gazed at her surroundings. The sun was finally setting. There were only a few swallows left in the sky. Warm colors blended with the blue sky, creating a burst—an explosion—of colors. The crimson, orange globe dived into the deep, flowing sea. The sea was slowly turning red from the colors escaping the bleeding globe. It was ember-red, as it licked and glittered the sea red like a dragon's tongue. The sand has been polished into a long sheet of copper and the horizon is laced with a thin layer of silver.

Birds started singing their last song before sleeping; it was their goodnights. She really didn't understand what they said, but it soothed her for some reason. With a impossible task buzzing in her mind for a while, the sounds relaxed her. The concoction of sounds—the waves' music and the birds' haunting cry—made a perfect scenery, just like mixing red with blue. She still heard her mind reminding her to go home, but the new sounds emitted within the moment made her forget.

All of this caused to leave goose-bumps on her pale skin. The sun's heat was moderately leaving her skin. It felt as if she was trapped in a dome of glass. Everything was crystal clear and piercing clarity and all of her senses were cut to sharpness. Was this caused by a drop in temperature, the tranquility in the air, or was her senses are becoming heightened? It was none of these. It was because the magnificence of sky, air, and sea.

She became more aware of her senses now. A zephyr blew and carried the smell of the extravaganza scents. Their fragrance flared up her nostrils, washing out the salty smell of the sea and the citric aroma of the fruits.

As the evening progressed, colors were turning from warm to dark shades like a palette. The slumbering sea became a-glow like molten platinum silver. The last few white lights were cast down and it's over. The night was here, and the sky looked like a black, velvet blanket filled with dust.

The young looking girl shifted her eyes from the sunset to the boy beside her. His breathing was more deep and relaxed now, which helped her erase all of her worries. Her teeth played with her lower lip before she took a deep breath and dove back into the sea, mumbling a small  _'goodbye'_ under her breath.

 **←** **Α →**

It's been days since he dove into the deep ocean. Four days, to be exact. He would visit the ocean every day when he finished his shift. Curiosity killed him. Who exactly helped him? He couldn't remember what happened after he jumped, but he remembered the aftermath. He still knew how exactly he felt when he woke up that day.

Taehyung woke up after a couple of hours after he was saved, darkness surrounding him. It was late and dark, yet he was abandoned in front of an ocean. He couldn't remember what he felt at first when he woke up breathing and alive. Maybe he felt gratefulness for a second, but he then felt confused. He was supposed to be dead, buried deep in the water.

He sat up, his hands trying to grab hold of the sand below him. It left him with dirty fingers and nails, which he then dusted off. It wasn't that dark. There was light coming from the moon and the houses meters away from where he is. It was light enough for him to see the words on the ground beside him. They were a bit faded, but he still made out what was written.

**_'To. The Guy In the Nirvana Shirt,_ **

**_I saved your life. Please stay away from the ocean. Don't do this again. You don't deserve to die now. Take care.'_ **

It was written in broken Korean, along with a lot of spelling errors. It indicated that it wasn't a Korean who wrote this. Thankfully, he understood what was written. He felt touched, even though he didn't know who the person was.

Taehyung was still confused. How did that person manage to save him when the waves were  _too strong_? How was he saved after he inhaled in so much water? It felt so... surreal; a dream. He couldn't wake up from that dream. Was it really a dream? It felt more of a state between consciousness and unconsciousness. Did you ever experience that feeling of peacefulness after you wake up from a good dream? Surprisingly, it felt like that to him. He didn't feel like that in such a long time.

Ever since that incident, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He felt connected with the ocean, somehow. No matter what he does or where he is, he often found himself thinking about the ocean, about who saved him.

 _'Maybe I was a mermaid in my past life.' H_ e joked to himself, kicking a pebble into the water. There wasn't a lot of sands there, but stones instead. Taehyung never realized that it was a shingle beach until now. If you walk a little further to the left, you'd see sand. To the right, there were huge rocks. He loved sitting on—or next to—them.

Taehyung's eyes would wander around till they reach  _those_  rocks. There was something that would catch his eye for a second, but when he goes there, there's nothing. He once found an Aquamarine; a sea gemstone. He wanted to throw it away at first, or even sell it for more money. In the end, he decided to turn it into a necklace and wear it all the time. It was a token, or a tag, that reminded him of he got saved mysteriously. Well, he liked thinking of it that way.

In all honesty, finding the gemstone made him even more confused. Heck, he was frustrated at this moment! Why does he keep feeling like this towards the sea? What was in the sea that made him feel like this?

Just when he was going to turn and walk away, he caught something by the rocks. It was a familiar  _swoosh_ of pink and purple colors, along with a little of  _navy black_. It made him drop everything he was planning to do and carefully walk to the giant rock.

His steps were careful and ever so light, trying not to make noise against the pebbled shore. Even though it didn't help a lot, his breathing was deep and slow. The sound of the water hitting the shore masked all of these sounds, thankfully.

The rock was more inside the water rather than land. It wasn't that deep, but deep enough to swim further into the sea. He didn't need to touch the water either, since there was a bunch of rocks he can step on to reach  _that_ rock.

Once he reached the rock, he placed his hands on it and sat up on it. His dark brown eyes rested on a girl with midnight-black hair. They were filled with various flowers: purple Acacias, Almond Blossoms, and even petals of white Carnations. They looked mesmerizing as if it had magic on it.

"I f-found you," he spoke up. It made the girl turn around to look at him. Taehyung realized that her lower body—waist and below—was in the water, hiding anything  _bizarre._ "Hi, I'm—"

He was cut off by the girl lifting herself up, causing him to get off that rock and stand on the rock behind it. Her upper body was now resting on the rock he was previously on. Her hair covered her chest, but not enough. They had clams and pearls covering them. There were scales as well, but not a lot. The gemstones and pearls on it made her body sparkle in some kind of way.

"Y-you're wearing my necklace." she said in a small whisper, her hand reaching out to the Aquamarine gemstone. Her voice seemed to put him under a spell. She had a melodious voice that could swoon anyone nearby. She really wasn't supposed to speak to anyone, especially to males.

She had an accent, weirdly. Taehyung thought that she was Korean from her facial features. Her Korean wasn't that bad either, so he understood what she was saying.

He carefully looked at the girl, who seemed too innocent and angelic to be real. Her small hands were playing with his necklace, as most of her hair covered her face.

"Yeah..." He awkwardly said, growing a bit uncomfortable from the lack of personal space. His hand softly held hers and moved it away from the shining, blue gemstone. "What're you doing here?"

The girl finally looked up to see him. Taehyung felt his breath hitch and his words get stuck in his throat. He was hypnotized by her glowing beauty, which seemed to get under his skin.

Her cobalt-black hair swooped over her shoulders, framing her oval face perfectly. The flowers planted in her hair gave him a small zephyr of spring-like fragrance, rocking him off his feet.

She stared at him with her dreamy, constellation blue eyes. They were orbit round, reminding him of the sea. They weren't like those blue eyes that Europeans have. They were rhapsody-blue. Taehyung felt his heart drop when he stared into them. Her eyes were two Aquamarine-blue orbs swimming in milky pools. It could easily put anyone under a spell or hypnotize him. They simply had a hypnotic quality to them. Velvety, black lashes swept over her eyes. They were gleaming like two blue stars over her unblemished, high cheekbones. On top of that, her straight, light colored eyebrows framed her eyes.

"I—" the girl began to stutter, her cheeks faintly turning pink.

"Oh, my God! Is that a fin?!" Taehyung gasped out of nowhere, pointing at her half-fish body. They were swaying a bit underwater so she won't go under. Taehyung's mouth hung open, his eyes never leaving her pink-to-blue scales.

 _'How is this even possible?'_ He cried to himself in confusion and shock. He can't believe that what he was looking at was real. This whole week must be a dream. Mermaids? They surely don't exist, or so he thought.

"It... is." She found a hard time talking to him. Talking in another language was hard, but talking to a human was even harder. It was her first time, and she was shy, even though she's typically outgoing with other mermaids and mermen.

"Do you want to s-sit down?" No matter what Taehyung did, he always blanked out when she gazed at him with her blue eyes. They were too enchanting that he didn't notice her shyly nodding in agreement.

The two were sitting in front of an another huge rock nearby. This one wasn't into the water like that one. It was good enough to cover the supernatural creature beside him.

It took a while to get there because of the mermaid's tail. She couldn't walk, and it was hard and hurtful for her to crawl. Plus, it was disrespectful for him to let her crawl. And when he wanted to carry her, her fin kept slipping out of his grasp. It made him worry over her and, of course, embarrassed. In the end, he placed her over his shoulder, trying to be careful as much as possible. He felt a bit awkward, since he could feel her chest pressed tightly against his shoulder and collarbones.

"Were you the one who saved me?" Taehyung first started, sitting sideways so he can face her. His legs were crossed beneath him. The girl had her tail stretched in front of her while her back leaned against the rock for support.

She only nodded at him. She never spoke up unless she had to.

"Are you... are you a mermaid? From where are you? You look Korean... except for your eye color."  _'And accent'_ he added in mentally.

"I am a mermaid... from Greece." Her sentences were simple and short due to her limited Korean.

"Woah," he said, his eyes wide. "Wait, so is everything in  _Percy Jackson_ real?"

"Uh, I guess? The Gods and Deities are real, of course! Percy, Annabeth, and that... half-blood camp? They aren't real." She explained, slightly amused at his curiosity.

"So, you're telling me that the Greek Gods and everything about Greek mythology is actually real? Is  _Hereos of Olympus_  real then? I thought mermaids sea maids."

"Do I look like a maid to you?"

"Oh, sorry." Taehyung gave her his signature, square-ish smile. "Is there an entire... civilization underwater?"

"More than you can imagine." She nodded a bit, her eyes glancing at his adorable smile.

"And we didn't know?!"

"Basically." The mermaid didn't bother with the formality, but Taehyung was too surprised to care, or even notice! "I'm not really supposed to talk with you."

"Why not?" He raised an eyebrow.

Her fingers played with one of the flowers in her hair, looking down to avoid his eyes. "Mermaids are forbidden to talk with humans these centuries, especially to men. We can lure sailors with our voices to suicide, whether it's on purpose or not. It's a rule, but it doesn't apply to me... anymore."

"What do you mean?" At this rate, he was growing more confused. It wasn't because of her wrong usage of tenses, but her additional words. "What do you mean by  _'anymore'_?"

"I'll tell you later." The female shrugged off his questions nonchalantly. "Since I saved your life..."

"Yeah?"

"I think you owe me one."

"Wha—"

Taehyung was immediately tackled by the smaller mermaid. He was laying on his back, as she lifted his leg up and took off his shoe. She then took off his socks and threw it away, not really caring about it.

"Oh, my Gods, is this a feet?" She held his left foot by his ankle, looking at it closely with furrowed eyebrows. It was her first time seeing them in person. They amused her in some way.

"A foot." He corrected her, as he lifted his upper body by placing his elbows on the ground as support.

"You have the cutest foot ever!" A small giggle left her excited mouth. She moved his big for a bit with her index finger before quickly pulling away, her nose scrunching up.

"It's  _'feet'_... and probably the only ones you've seen." Taehyung bit back his smile and pulled his leg out of her grasp. He quickly sat back up, clearly enjoying what was happening.

He haven't felt happy and carefree in a long time. Maybe it was due to her hypnotic eyes, but a part of him felt it was because of her. She was too innocent and giggle-y that he found it cute somehow.

"You never had legs, right?" He then asked, receiving a nod from her. "Is it possible...? Well, Ariel did get legs in exchange for her voice, but it isn't the same, right?"

"It is as long as you have the permission." She nodded a bit at him, tucking her hair behind her ear. She was resting her body on one of her hands for support, her tail stretching to the side in front of Taehyung.

"Do you?" Hope and curiosity filled his voice. He was human, and humans tend to be curious, even if it kills them.

The mermaid bit her lower lip, slightly dropping her head down. She didn't know if she could trust him, but she  _had to_. She was  _supposed_ to. It was a risk, though. It could lead to a lot of problems if he uses her knowledge against her and her species, but the guy didn't seem like he would do that, right?

She lifted her eyes up, looking at him through her eyelashes then nodded shyly.

"Why do you?" Taehyung kept asking her a lot of questions, but it made her slightly ticked off. Mermaids were never curious like humans, and they didn't have a lot of flaws either. In exchange, humans were  _much_ smarter than mermaids. Of course, there were smart mermaids, but they were nowhere near human's intelligence. That's why she needed a human partner for her task.

"It's a long story and it's getting pretty late." she nodded her head towards the setting sun. "I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Same time?"

She nodded at him then said, "I should go. Uh... can you carry me back to the sea?"

"Of course!" Taehyung gave her a small smile then picked her up again. He was serious about carrying her back, but he couldn't help it but blush at how her boobs pressed against his body once again. The girl seemed to not notice, or maybe she didn't mind at all. He then remembered how normal it is for mermaids—in Greek Mythology—have nothing covering their chest.

Taehyung carefully placed her inside the sea. They were in the same place Taehyung caught her—not really, they were a couple of meters away from that huge rock. The only thing that was different is that the sun wasn't up. Well, they became  _'friends'—_ not that close, though, and Taehyung happened to find out about the hidden civilizations underwater.

"I didn't catch your name, by the way." He spoke up when he saw the mermaid turn and about to swim back home.

His legs were crossed under him, as he watched her swim closer to him. Her arms rested on the rocks, tilting her head up to look at him.

"Wheein."

"Taehyung." He breathed out, his chocolate-brown eyes were swimming in her ocean-blue eyes. Wheein gave him a smile for the first time, displaying her right dimple before she swam back home.


	4. Chapter TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A human soul is like a cassette. It displays many emotions and feelings throughout its experiences in life, sharing it with others. These emotions always leave a story behind. As in, there would always be a reason that causes such emotion to be triggered in your body. Cassettes can get broken along the way, just like human souls. They're fragile, and they need help. Some of them scream despair in their eyes, just wanting a person—whether it was a stranger, relative, friend, or boyfriend/girlfriend—to help them."
> 
> — Nightless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Listen to – Angels & Demons by Front Porch Step ]

He was dreaming, wasn't he? It must be a dream. Such things...  _don't exist_.

Taehyung woke up the next woke up the next morning feeling refreshed; new. It felt as if he woke up from a deep slumber, and the constant grogginess he felt whenever he woke up from such sleep was replaced with excitement bubbling in his stomach. The air he was breathing was different. Perhaps it was the window he left open presented him with the crisp breeze into his room. Despite the increasing coldness of the city, the air entering his lungs were like freshly baked bread entering his mouth, and  _oh so_  he missed such feeling. Hanging by a thin strand that separated him from reaching poverty never felt so nice before. Dust of magic and shimmer brimmed his room ever so lightly, as Taehyung reminisced the creature he met that day. And so, he remembered that his new friend was probably waiting for him.

His legs soon took him to the beach. Was there anything quite blissful as an amble by the seashore? Walking through an airy womb between the cerulean-blue gown, that went by the name  _the sea,_ and the ground dipped in earth shine-gold,  _the beach_.

The gentle pulsing heart of the sea caused a swell and the waves cascading onto shepherd's hook of gold that left its grains and mark against it. The rollers of gem-blue dashing the sand left a salty aroma that he grew addicted to.

His eyes cast into the thin line of nickel-silver, the identical, fresh air exiting his pale lips. The tips of his fingers played with themselves, buried in his pockets to gather heat. He silently admired the feng shui perfection of the beach that held its own magical touch.  _It was Poseidon's realm,_  he thought to himself _, and I'm not supposed to be here._

Suddenly, he had a light bulb moment. The lanky guy was disappointed at first, but then he realized that his cyan-blue paradise hosted another guest,  _Wheein_. He wasn't alone; he never was. As his nose was tantalized by the pouring fragrance from the sea's vial, Taehyung started walking towards the rock he met an alluring creation of the Gods.

"Ah, you actually came?" her galaxy filled eyes met his 'boring' ones. A small dent was engraved in her right cheek, as she tried holding back her hopeful smile. Her wet, black curls framed her face and rested on her chest. Her elbows were on the rock that separated the two and her chin rested between the vertex of her hands.

"What, you expected me not to?" Taehyung joked around, looking down at the petite girl.

"Actually... yes. It's not like you meet a mermaid everyday."

"Touché."

With the help of the brown-eyed boy, the duo were sitting on the shore. The obsidian-black beauty was resting against his side; it was hard behind on land when you have a tail. Speaking of tails, Wheein spoke up about it: "So, since you came back, I've been planning on telling you something ever since you said you will come back."

"M'kay," he hummed in response. "What is it?"

"So, you know how I told you that mermaids can have legs if they have the permission, right?" Wheein didn't wait for a confirmation from him and continued on with her talk. "That only happens when you're on an important task, and as you can tell, I'm on a huge task.

"The only reason I'm telling you this is because I need your help. I also have the permission on having a human companion to help me with this quest. However, you need to have an oath to the Gods that you swear on your life and soul that you won't share such sacred information to any other human being.

"The quest is to find Poseidon's Utopia. I think that name is pretty uncommon, and your people would often go by the name Atlantis—a lost city. I already have a couple of starters, and I need your help."

Wheein definitely didn't want to go deeper in case Taehyung doesn't accept her request. She was really hopeful that he would help her. She was more than sure that he would accept it and such thoughts made her sound a little too confident and egotistical. However, she was a  _mermaid_. Mermaids were able to lure the darkest and most secretive people with a snap of fingers. Legends even claim that they wouldn't fail on seducing the Devil himself, as such creatures were meant to tempt men, mainly sailors, to death.

Taehyung, on the other hand, didn't seem  _that_ fazed by the enchantments she hung around the air. And  _that_ made her realize that he was the one who was supposed to help her with inexorable task. If anything, he was disconcerted by the fact that mermaids, sirens, and even incubuses existed.

"Out of everyone, why me? Wait- scratch that... most importantly, what would I benefit from helping you?" That was the first thing Taehyung said after about five seconds of silence passed by.

"Since you're helping me, a mythical creature, with a task from  _the Gods themselves,_ I'm pretty sure you'd be able to get whatever you have in mind. Whether it was happiness, money, fame, or anything. You can take it as a deal with Hades minus selling your soul and going to Tartarus." Wheein peeled her eyes off his and looked at the uncoiling waves that resembled an old, vellum parchment rolling in front of their eyes.

"Then, I'll help you."

**←** **τ** **→**

Her galaxy shined more than ever, and Taehyung felt himself get captivated  _all over again_. He never saw such beautiful eyes in his entire life, especially since South Korea is filled with dark eyed people. Wheein's orbs were out of the world. They weren't just blue, but they had specs and dusts of light brown and yellow. Taehyung could've sworn that he could see an entire beach in her eyes. The palette of light brown illustrated grains of gold scattered that kept getting hit by blue gradient.

His eyes and thoughts were so deep into hers to the point he didn't notice Wheein's new form. Her petite arms were holding onto his, as pearl-white light came from her body—waist and down. Taehyung snapped out of his trance when the mythical creature closed her eyes shut from the light. The sight that unfolded in front of him felt so ethereal and just  _so_ splendorous. Taehyung's free hand instinctively covered his eyes partly, as he tried to grab a glimpse of the view. The light that was once on Wheein's lower body travelled up to her upper body, and Taehyung was uncertain whether he hand to remove his hands or not. He decided against it, as he didn't want her to fall and hurt herself in a way.

Diaphanous fabric covered Wheein's body. Her chest that used to be covered with shining pearls and fish-skin 'bra' was now replaced with a tight, white crop-top along with a salmon colored jacket that reached a bit below her hips. Her legs... Taehyung have seen  _hundreds_ of legs, but he was mesmerized once again. Perhaps the seductive aura Wheein had around her caused such conflicting feelings arise within Taehyung, but he was too 'whipped' to notice. Her short legs were covered with short, washed out jeans. Her feet, however, were bare. He never thought of feet that much, but he found Wheein's weirdly cute.

"Oh, my Zeus."

"Oh, my God."

The two blurted out in sync. Wheein hands unintentionally pushed Taehyung away from her body when she went to hold her legs. She never had legs in her life, and it was such a weird experience to her. They were extremely pale too, probably because they were never exposed to the sun.

The first thing Wheein did was hold her leg to examine it closely. Due to not being that flexible, she ended up falling backwards. A small giggle left her mouth, as she looked at her feet. Her black hair was covered in sand from her fall, but Wheein didn't seem to mind at all. She was fascinated by her own self that she felt her own self-confidence hit the roof.

"Feet are so weird," she breathed out and sat up. "Can I see yours again?"

Taehyung chuckled and took off his shoes and socks with no hesitance. Wheein shifted in her place and sat down in front of Taehyung, immediately comparing her feet with his. The difference between them was huge, and Wheein couldn't help but laugh at their difference. She probably looked so small and short next to him too. She wasn't that surprised either since she noticed how his hand would almost cover all of hers.

"You're so small," Taehyung teased her. His hands ruffled her black hair once he stood up, a small smile dancing on his face. "Let's go to my house first, okay? Wait— do you know how to walk?"

Taehyung rubbed his arms to warm himself down from the cold wind. His head was tilted down in order to look at the content girl. Her crinkled eyes and dimpled smile reminded him of his baby cousins that had that overjoyed look when they received a gift they always wanted. It was weird how he already was spellbound to her, and Wheein was starting to notice that from his longing stares. That was when she stopped her hypnotizing aura from affecting him even further.

"I don't know?" she replied in hesitance then stood up, her hand holding onto his.

Taehyung felt normal when their hands touched that time, and it freaked him a bit. The magic that was hung around the air between them was suddenly gone; it was weird. He was glad that it was over, as he felt himself go crazy from how he got lured by her. He never understood how mermaids would wrap their fingers around random men they find in the ocean until now.

His flushed cheeks didn't help cover Taehyung's flustered state. Wheein was holding onto him tightly as if her legs were about to give out and she would land face-first on the ground. The steps she took were short and slow-paced. It felt as if he really was teaching a kid on how to walk for the first time. Taehyung was a sucker for kids, so he wasn't that bothered. His boxed smile was visible the whole time while he counted her steps.

"Do you think you can walk by yourself now?" Taehyung asked her, starting to unwrap her hands from his.

Wheein bit down on her lower lip harshly. She didn't know how to answer him. A part of her was scared and hesitant, definitely. She wasn't sure that she would be able to walk already. Wheein needed his hands for support. Instead of answering him, she slowly let go of him and started to walk a bit. Just like she expected and predicted, she almost fell to her knees if Taehyung didn't hold her quickly. His reflexes were pretty quick. She had to admit that.

"I guess not? You're progressing really quickly, and that's good! Do you want to try again?" Taehyung slightly cheered her with light words of encouragement. A small, shaky breath left Wheein's lungs when she mentally fought with herself on whether trying again or not.

"So...?" he trailed off, not really sure on what to expect.

"Wait, I think I can." Wheein let go of his hand and tried walking again with hesitance lacing her steps. Soon, once she got used to the feeling, Wheein took off running, often between the sea's lips that softly kissed the sun-kissed sand. Salty water went in between her toes, and never in her hundred years of living she felt this way. She couldn't put her finger on what she was feeling, but she  _loved_ it.

It made her think on why Taehyung wanted to take his life when he had so much to explore with his feet? He had forests and countries to explore, palaces to visit, mountains to climb, and much more. Yes, Wheein didn't understand his reasoning at all; she was and always were a mermaid! There was nothing wrong with not knowing or empathizing with someone's hardships, of course. Matter of fact, Wheein would absolutely love it if Taehyung opened up more to her. The two were going to spend months and possibly years together. Might as well become best friends, right?

**←** **λ** **→**

His house wasn't much, but he liked it nonetheless. Living in Seoul was hard, so being able to get such house despite his financial problems was something Taehyung was always grateful though. Another thing he was grateful for was his health. Sure, he did try to kill himself a couple of days before and he  _regretted_ it. However, it was mind-awakening in a way. Him meeting Wheein helped him realize it too. Taehyung should've been grateful for being born in a whole piece with no deadly diseases or hard and life-threatening mental disorders. The thought of having to breathe for more was something he was even grateful for. Some people would be taking their last breath right at that second, and thinking about it like this made him content with the life he was living.

"Your house is very nice and cozy." Wheein commented while running her hand through her hair. Of course it was way different that her house in the middle of the sea. The sudden change in pressure, climate and just her surroundings made her feel slightly sick. She wasn't used to taking taking elevators to go to her house, nor she was used to taking the stairs. Her hair would never stay down and would tend to float around her. She felt homesick, and of course she missed her house. However, she had a mission that she had to complete in order to go back home.

"Ah, really? It's not that much, but make yourself at home. You can change into warmer clothes, too. Just take anything from my closet." Taehyung told her after he gave her a mini tour around his house.

It wasn't really much. Just a living room connected to a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. All were in the hues of white and shades of blue. He was glad that he chose blue since he could sense that the color helped his new friend relax even more. The colors of blue probably reminded her of her home and comforted her in a way.

"Okay... thank you so much, by the way." she gave him a shy smile, her hands fidgeting with each other absentmindedly.

"Ah, it's nothing. I'll be back after you change." Taehyung shrugged it off and went to the kitchen. Thankfully, he had some left-over food that his other friends got for him the other day. His friends were another thing he was grateful for too. They've been friends since high school, and they never separated each other after many years.

Taehyung took out some of the Korean food from his fridge and reheated it on the stove instead. He found that when food was reheated on the stove, it tastes better than microwaved food.

Taehyung prepared the small table that was in between the kitchen and the living room while the food was on the stove. They were going to eat on it, obviously. He let out a small sigh when he was done and went to check up on his food. Taehyung rolled up his sleeves and held his metal chopsticks, moving the food around to make sure that it was evenly heated. He took a bite from the spicy rice cake to make sure that it tasted good and warm enough to be served. A satisfied hum rang through the silent air in the kitchen, as Taehyung turned off the fire under the dish.

"Oh, what's this?" Taehyung almost dropped the food from his hands due to Wheein's sudden appearance. He didn't notice her until she spoke up. He placed the dish on the table, making sure that there was a heat-absorbing matt below it. "It smells really nice."

"You never tried this?" he asked after he made her sit down on one of the seats. He sat down in front of her and picked up his chopsticks. "Do you know how to use these or?" Taehyung tapped his chopsticks together when he asked her, leaning a bit forward in curiosity. He never met someone who was so clueless on how to live, especially when they look like they have an Asian ethnicity. The thought of mermaids actually existing didn't process through his mind yet.

"Nope, not yet." Wheein shook her head at both of his questions with a small frown on her face. It was probably embarrassing that she didn't know the simplest of stuff, but you couldn't blame her. She lived underwater for decades.

She picked up her chopsticks and tried to mimic the way Taehyung was holding his. Unfortunately, she failed on doing so.  _'How can they even eat with these?'_ she thought to herself while trying over and over again.

"Do you want me to teach you? It's quite easy when you get a hang of it." he offered and held the pair of chopsticks together beside each other. "Just follow what I'm telling you, okay?"

Taehyung had to admit that Wheein was a quick learner. She already knows how to eat with chopsticks even though her skills were quite rusty at that. That made him silently take a note of mermaids being extremely quick learners.  _'Oh! I should get a journal or something to take down notes...'_ he thought to himself and took another bite of his food.

"You're a fast learner, right?" he spoke up while pointing with his own chopsticks at her hand. Wheein nodded her head at him a bit enthusiastically and took another bite.

"Actually, each mermaid has a distinct talent or ability. Mine is being a quick learner and a good critical thinker. Also, this is so good! I never tried such food before in my life. We tend to eat a lot of seafood, and having to eat them for decades became really boring." she hummed in thought while stuffing her face with spicy rice cake. Her eating was messy; she had the sauce smudged on the corners of her lips.

"That makes sense..." Taehyung nodded and finished his cup of water. "It would taste even better if you had side dishes along with soju, but I... don't have that at the moment." Being financially unstable didn't allow him to eat a lot nor do a lot of things either. Living in a city with little to no money was hard, of course. His thin and fragile state was a result of not eating for days or eating one meal a day. He developed anaemia over time due to malnutrition.

"Ah, that's alright." Wheein reassured him then wiped her hands with a tissue. She raised a her index finger at him, indicating to give her a minute. Her hands were searching in the pockets of sweatpants, and that made Taehyung furrow his eyebrows—in confusion and curiosity.

What were in these pockets that related to the topic they were talking about?

"Give me your hand." Wheein ordered all of a sudden. She had her free hand extended to him while the other one was holding onto something tightly so he won't be able to see what she was hiding.

"Uh, okay?" Taehyung was a bit hesitant, of course.

He extended his clean hand to her and looked up at her through his lashes. Suddenly, her soft hand held his, and Taehyung lost all of his thoughts at that exact second. Wheein opened a window in his train of thoughts that caused all of his thoughts to fly out of it.

He then snapped back to reality when her closed hand was on his then placed something on his palm. Her velvet-like hands left his, showing light blue-green stones all over his hands. They weren't cut or shaped, but instead, they were as you would find them in rocks or oceans. Taehyung couldn't believe what he saw, really. The sizes and colors ranged from all colors, and that made him breathless. He wasn't sure why, though. Was it the fortune that they were going to give him? Or how deeply colored they were just like their home—the sea? Perhaps because they weren't too far off from Wheein's colored eyes.

"These are Aquamarines that I found in my way. Since you have troubles with your money stability, you can sell these as they cost a lot." Wheein explained, her hand rubbing her arm shyly. "Do you like them?"

When Taehyung met her gaze, he felt drawn into her eyes once again. The sky blueness generated a feeling like he was getting pulled to the ocean, as many believed that the ocean reflected the color of the sky. It was like all the various shades of blue swirled together to form a whirlpool of anticipation. Wheein's eyes were a bit red, and Taehyung never noticed that until now. He could tell that Wheein was expecting a great reaction from him, though.

"Of course! I-I mean, this is great! You really didn't have to." Taehyung stuttered and fumbled on his words at first, not knowing what to say.  _That_ was another thing he was most definitely grateful for.

"It's alright. We have a lot of these, anyways, so it's not a problem." she shrugged and drank her entire cup of water. "Do you want to sell them now?"

Taehyung's eyes lit up at the thought of that, and his once lonely and dull Christmas days lit up in bright colors.

**←** **α** **→**

He was on the seventh cloud by now. The amount of money they received was unimaginable, and Taehyung was seriously doubting that Wheein was a mermaid. She was more of an angel to him, instead. Things were moving and unfolding quicker than he thought they would to the point he didn't know what exactly he was feeling. Heck, he didn't even know what he felt towards Wheein. If it wasn't for her magic earlier, things would've been clearer. He seemed infatuated by her—they were probably side effects.

The two were a bit awkward with each other, mainly Taehyung. His confusion and constant hesitance spurred a lot of awkward silence between them that none of them knew how to get rid of it. They were 'friends' without knowing anything about each other, so perhaps that's why. Plus, Tae was still suffering from the side effects of her previous luring.

"Do you want to go buy clothes for you?" Taehyung first started when he snapped out of his thoughts and found himself staring at her clothes from the corner of his eyes. As adorable as Wheein looked in his oversized clothings, they weren't suitable to wear when you go outside.

Wheein nodded at him and added, "I was just thinking about that! Do you know any stores that sell nice clothes?" Taehyung gave her a small smile with a nod, thinking of a perfect place to shop.

Myeongdong was known to having a lot of nice clothes especially for girls. The place had all kinds of shops there and it would be the most crowded at night. Seoul was alive and filled the most during the night, as most students finish around ten and people would return from their work at that time too. Of course It would be expensive at times, but the two were basically rich at that point. They could even buy a new house if they sold more of the Aquamarines Wheein had.

And that was where they headed to. The smell of fish-cakes stuffed with red-bean paste filled their noses the second they reached there. It wasn't that crowded, so the duo were able to walk more freely. The space between them was small; their shoulders weren't touching. Wheein's shoulders didn't even reach his due to her small height, which was a bit amusing to him.

There were all kinds of colors and things. From music albums to shoes, the two knew that they would spend all of their money at that exact second if they didn't hold themselves. Taehyung was already craving the fishcake they smelled earlier. He could tell that Wheein was hungry from her longing stares on enormous amount of street food that was there. However, he knew that it was better if she bought new clothes first and changed into them.

It wasn't that hard picking an outfit, as Wheein noticed that Taehyung had a great sense of style. She wasn't picky either. Since it was Winter, Wheein bought the thickest clothes she could find. Once she changed into them in a bathroom nearby, she felt way warmer than before. It was comfortable too, except for the tight black jeans she was wearing. However, it made her feel a bit more confident as she looked like a complete hobo earlier.

"Is it nice?" Wheein asked Taehyung and did random poses to show her outfit properly. Taehyung's low chuckle made Wheein laugh for the first time, and oh God, he heard the Christmas bells ring for the first time in forever. It was so contagious and funny that it made him smile even wider.

"Yeah, it looks great on you." he gave her two thumbs up with a signature smile of his. His eyes crinkled, and Wheein thought that he looked just  _so_ cute when he smiled. It felt weird when she thought of him like that, as she felt as if she was a middle-schooler who liked someone. "C'mon. Let's go before it gets more crowded than before."

Wheein ran her fingers through her black hair and nodded, making sure to take all of her stuff before they started walking. The first thing the two did was buy a shit ton of food, literally. Wheein being bored and done with seafood, and Taehyung not eating for days led to them eating quite a lot. It was fun stuffing your mouth with all kinds of food that you never had in a long time.

Wheein was absolutely content with how different Taehyung seemed. He looked so dull and depressed before, and now, she couldn't help but notice how his eyes would slightly light up whenever they talked about something or when he tried new food. She never felt so satisfied and proud of a thing she have done until now. She was glad that she helped him in a way. Wheein didn't know she was going to return the favor of him helping her, so she thought that this was one of the many possible ways. Of course, she had bigger things in mind. After all, they were searching for a  _lost_ city. 

Just the thought of being on a hunt to find something that was gone for centuries did make Wheein forget about everything and get worried. She already got a lead, but she didn't know how to continue it. Maybe Taehyung was smart enough to help; she could tell that he was extremely smart despite being  _way_ younger than him. Nonetheless, having Taehyung as a partner in such journey was a huge step for Wheein.

However, with the intelligence Taehyung possessed and the decades of experience and power Wheein had, there was a chance—hope—that they would find the city. And with so, Wheein wasn't as bothered as she used to be. Instead, she let go all of her worries and continued to sip from her warm, hot chocolate.

Taehyung was sitting in front of her, his free hand was petting and scratching a cat's ear. They ended up at a cat café after all of the shopping they've done. The soft humming and chatter from other people along with the aroma of coffee beans did help Wheein feel more cozy and comfortable in general. The cats meowing and rubbing against her legs made Wheein somewhat attached to the place. She was a foreigner to South Korea despite her Korean looks. She didn't speak the language properly and did a whole lot of mistakes while talking.  _That_ was something that Taehyung found abnormally cute. 

It was weird how attached he grew to her, and he was glad that they started off on good terms. Otherwise, he wouldn't be smiling and talking with her. Wheein didn't seem like those mermaids he always heard about. If anyone saw the couple, they would've thought that the two perfectly normal people. Yet, little did they know how they were anything but normal.

Taehyung was a suicidal and financially unstable young adult. His thoughts always consisted of pessimism and constant battle with his inner self. The eye bags under his eyes and the lankiness of his body definitely cried out for immediate care and attention. How can a soul-dead person take care of himself when he lost all hope long ago?

Wheein was a mermaid, a woman of the sea. A mythical creature in other words. She had a whole myriad of blues in her eyes that definitely screamed out that she wasn't normal. Wheein could tell the lingering stares at her eyes and that definitely made her more nervous than ever. You never see a blue-eyed Asian. Even if they wore contacts it would be noticeable.

Yet, the two, with all their dark secrets, appeared normal behind the curtains. 


End file.
